“Mamma.” Anya said then thinking for a second she said, “Nika bhabhi.”

That sent Soumya into another fit of laughter.

“Oh! I should have guessed.” Ranjana said entering the room.”Where there is Anya, there is laughter. She has been waiting for you to get up since this morning. She couldn’t take it anymore it seems.”

“Who is she Anya?” Soumya said pointing at Ranjana.

” Naaniii” Anya said elongating her vowels as usual.

Both Soumya and Ranjana laughed. “Anika and Aashi have told her to call me Nani and you maasi.”

“Aai, she just called Anika bhabhi, Nika bhabhi.” Soumya said very amused.

“Oh! The fun has just started. She assumes you are a newcomer in this house. She will introduce you to everyone. ” Ranjana chuckled. ” Now get up and get ready. It is ten a.m. Anika is skipping her morning visit to her restaurant to be with you and Aashi said she will be back by lunch.”

Soumya nodded. “Anya, can I get ready so I can come downstairs and talk to everyone?”

“O.k.” Anya said and got down from her lap. Then she took Ranjana’s hand and said, “Lessgo daaun Naaniii. Byeee Somamasi.”

Unable to stop laughing, Soumya waved bye to her and Ranjana.

As she got ready, flashes of her conversation with Rudra from the previous night and the dream from that morning went past her mind. Goosebumps rose all over body as she recalled what was said about dreams seen in the mornings.

“Oh God! I should find an accommodation for myself before I start my job and before I embarrass myself.” she thought as she finished brushing her hair and turned around to leave the room.

“Come Soumya, have your breakfast.” Anika said once Soumya was in the living room.

” I am not hungry bhabhi. I will have lunch with all of you. it’s already past eleven anyway.”

Anya nodded as if Soumya was speaking to her. Then she took Soumya by the hand and started walking her around to everyone in the living room.

“Nika Bhabhi” she said introducing Anika

“Daaadii”

“Mom Buddy maaa”

“Mom Choti Maa”

” Buaaa, Pinku”

“Naanii. Ranjaa” she finished thoughtfully, ensuring that she had given complete information amidst roars of laughter from everyone.

Just then Aashi came in with Shikhar by her side.

Anya looked gleefully at them and ran over. Shikhar picked her up. “How are you Anya dear?”

Once they had reached close by to everyone Anya did her introduction again, “Aachi, Shika mama”

There was a fresh peal of giggles from Soumya.”Nice to see you again Aachi and Shika Mama” she said laughing.

“Hi Soumya. So good to have you back. Aashi told me you were home so I thought I’ll come and see you” Shikhar said giving Soumya a quick hug.

Soumya tried to catch up with all the new developments during lunch. “Priyanka, two weeks for your boutique opening, is that right? What is the name you finally decided upon?”

“Celestial Designs” Priyanka informed. Then looking at Shikhar she added ” Fashion with a Passion.”

“Wow! Celestial Designs, Fashion with a Passion. What a great name. How did you zero in on this name?” Soumya asked very impressed.

“Well, one fourth of all of my profits will go to Expressions Unfettered, Bhaiya’s gallery so that he can accommodate more and more struggling artists. Another one-fourth of all profits will go to Aasha, Shikhar’s NGO for helping young girls from troubled background to pursue a career that will make them self-reliant. So, that’s the passion part of it.” Priyanka said smiling her usual soft smile.

Everyone listened to Priyanka spellbound but especially Aashi, who looked overwhelmed with emotion and Shikhar who had stopped even pretending that he was eating and looked at Priyanka with open admiration.

“That is so amazing Priyanka.” Soumya said while very aware of the fact that she had used Shikhar’s first name and noone had shown any surprise about it. “Wow! I have missed a lot in the past year and a half it seems.”she thought. Shifting her attention to Shikhar she asked aloud, “Shikhar bhaiya, you have started an NGO? What a great cause!”

Shikhar dragged his gaze away from Priyanka and cleared his throat.” Yes, I had been thinking about it for a couple of years. A lot of prep work had to be done in terms of researching the needs and demographics other than permission, licensing and other legal aspects. Finally the conceptualization, acquiring of property, and developing the building was done. We have two girls, to start with, who are looking for an avenue to build a brighter future. We will inaugurate with them.”

“When is the inauguration?” Soumya asked completely blown away by the whole concept.

“Three weeks from now. One week after the opening of Priyanka’s boutique.”

“Well I must say, Om bhaiya, Priyanka, and you are quite a team.” Soumya said smiling.

” Include Aashi in that.” Shikhar said looking affectionately at his sister. “She is the chief mentor at Aasha.”

Aashi smiled at Soumya and they continued to discuss the two openings.

“When does your job start Soumya?” Shikhar asked.

” Well, I have some paperwork with human-resources to complete and some orientations to go through. Work will officially start beginning of next month, so about three weeks. I am thinking of looking for a…”

“Hi everyone!” Soumya was interrupted by Om, Rudra, and Shivaay coming in.
“We finished the meetings and office work for today so that we could work from home and spend some time with Soumya.” Shivaay informed everyone as he went and hugged Soumya who had gotten up, upon seeing them.

“How are you? Wow! I hadn’t realized just how much we were missing​ having you here. Now that you are back it seems you never left! That’s the thing with families. No duration of being apart can take away that natural feel.” Shivaay said looking fondly at her.

Anya wiggled in her chair to get down and Jhanvi helped her get out. She rushed to Shivaay and started the introductions again. “Daddy, Somamasi came.”

Then she went to Om “O.” Then looking a little apprehensively at Anika, she repeated, “O chaachu.”

Lastly she walked up to Rudra who picked her up and kissed her cheek.” Somamasi, Oody chachu” she said smiling as she looked at Soumya.

Soumya tried to balance between the laughter that arose in her due to Anya’s introductions and the fluttering in her stomach that arose due to memory of her dream from that morning.

“Nice to meet you Daddy, O, and Oody.” she said in an attempt to hide her light-headedness with a joke.

Rudra looked at her with narrowed eyes and saw the nervousness​ behind her casual demeanor.

Almost done with lunch, they sat around chatting. ” Soumya, you were in the middle of saying something when they came. What were you saying about looking for something?” Pinky asked.

Soumya looked nervously at everyone.
“I was thinking… now that I have a job, I was thinking of looking for a place.”

There was pin-drop silence in the room. Rudra looked like he was going to bore a hole in her face with his gaze. Ranjana looked at her with an astonished look and the rest of them looked extremely uncomfortable. Shikhar sensed an awkwardness but had no clue why.Pinky was the only one completely oblivious to any tension in the room.

“Achcha. Place. Ok. But what kind of place do you want? You have an office na? You are not opening any business? Then why place?” she asked utterly confused.

“No Pinky aunty, I meant a place to live, like an apartment.”

Now Pinky looked even more confused. ” Hain? For whom? Achcha, some friend of yours needs a place to live. Shivaay can easily help you with that.” Pinky said smiling at Shivaay whose face looked extremely grim.

“No aunty. I meant for myself. A place to live for myself. I am not a student anymore so I should support my own living expenses.”

Now Pinky looked serious too. ” Why, everyone else living here is student or what? Except Saahil, there are no more students here. Hain Ranjana ji? Has this girl gone mad living abroad for one and a half years. What nonsense? Am I right mummy ji?” Pinky said looking expectantly at Daadi.

Daadi smiled at her younger daughter-in-law. Pinky’s simplicity had always endeared her to her mother-in-law in spite of her periodic denseness. ” For once Pinky, you are one hundred percent right. Utter nonsense. Actually she is still in jet-lag so we will not take it too seriously,” she said giving Soumya a very serious look that shook her to the core.

“Haan! That’s true.” Pinky said. “Arrey, this is your home in Mumbai then where will you go, job or no job. Haan, once you get married, live wherever your husband lives, apartment, bungalow, mansion, room, whatever.” Pinky said winking exaggeratedly at Soumya, “We will not stop you then.”

Another uncomfortable silence followed. Finally Jhanvi broke the ice “Pinky, let’s go and try the dresses Prinku wanted us to try. Then she can finalize that lot. You know Soumya, Prinku is designing dresses for a whole spectrum of age-groups and sizes. There are some dresses for Anya’s age too, can you imagine! I think that gives a definite edge to her line. It is so inclusive. Ranjana ji, you also join us. It will be more fun. We can pretend to be college girls going shopping together.”

Thereon, the conversation shifted to Priyanka’s boutique opening while Jhanvi, Pinky, and Ranjana left the room.

“I’ll go and lie down for some time.” Dadi said sounding exhausted.

Soumya felt extremely guilty.” How do I explain to them. If I stay here, those dreams will be accompanied by even more crazy ideas.”

“I need to visit the restaurant for some time.” Anika said getting up. “I’ll be back by tea-time. Aashi, you are home right?”

“Yes bhabhi.” She said pulling Anya into her lap.

“Bye Aanoo. See you soon. Can you give mamma a kiss?” Anika said bending down to kiss her.

“Byee mamma. I laav you.” Anya said smiling.

Shikhar smiled looking at the adorable imp.”I’ll see you guys later. Bye.” he said giving one last look to Priyanka who gazed back at him.

Soumya spent the entire day looking at carefully masked, hurt expressions on the faces of everyone but Pinky. Ranjana looked very upset. “Why did you say that?” she had told when she had found some time alone with her. “And so abruptly, the very next day you came back? How could you be so insensitive Sumi? These people don’t just love you LIKE you are their family, you ARE family to them. You belittled their love. The way Om cares about you…How worried he looked!”

Soumya had been speechless. Now she sat staring at the lawn from a balcony on the ground floor. Still under jet-lag, she couldn’t sleep. Besides the memory of all the sad faces, angry looks, and accusations of being rude, troubled her beyond measure. She sat there wiping her eyes when she heard soft footsteps behind her. A little startled, she turned around to see Rudra standing there. He gave a long look to her face, pulled a chair next to her, and sat down.

” Crying?” He asked simply.

“Angry?” she replied with a question.

“I thought you would understand the difference between hurt and angry.” Rudra said looking at her miserable face.

When she did not respond he spoke again.”Why do you want to move? What made you think on those lines?”

” Circumstances. I came here four years ago because I was very young and new to the city. I needed a safe place to stay among trustworthy people. That is no longer a need.”

“And nothing else has changed in the last four years? No new relationships, sentiments, nothing? Everything you have with this family is just need-based?”

That hurt her very badly and a fresh stream of tears started running down her cheeks.

“No! Of course not. I have close relationship with everyone in this family, but I could not take it for granted. That would have been presumptuous of me. I didn’t want anyone to think that…That I was assuming…” Unable to go on she sat there silently weeping and wiping her tears.

“Anyone or me? Why do I have the feeling that this has more to do with me than everyone else. Does this have something to do with the incident that took place three years ago?” Rudra asked looking at her directly.

“Maybe that…” Soumya said. ” but also with what is happening now. I want no further complications.”

“What kind of complications are you suspecting?” Rudra inquired.

“I mean, we have all entered the next phase of our lives.” she said trying to explain herself.

“Umhmmm.”

” Sooner or later there are bound to be developments and things could get awkward between us.”

“Really? How?” Rudra asked starting to get a clear idea of what was going on in her mind but in no mood to help her out.

Soumya resorted to absolute silence. She couldn’t go on any further without any awkward admission.

“There won’t be any complications.” He said studying the various expressions on her face intently. Then he looked like he had come to a definite understanding.” Look, just stay while everyone is preparing for Prinku’s big day. Continue with your work as needed. If you still feel a few weeks from now that you should move, then we will look into the matter. Just don’t rush into it and make a wrong decision, and deeply hurt a whole lot of people including yourself.”

Soumya looked at him with surprise.”My God! Are you really Rudra? You are talking like Om bhaiya. For how long have you been so mature now?” she said in a teasing voice. Somehow, she was not upset anymore and her mood felt much better.

“Actually O gets the maturity from me.” Rudra said carrying on with the humor “Wo to, I just maintain this clown image to keep my family entertained. You know, the dynamic personality that I am!”

“Oh God! Too much. I can’t take it anymore. I’ll go to sleep now.” Soumya said laughing at his exaggerated talk.

As they walked up the staircase, Rudra put his right arm around her. Before she could start feeling jittery again he said, “You know Sumo, do not over think matters. What’s there is there. What’s bound to happen will happen. Just take it one day at a time, let me know your doubts, and do not fear while Rudy is there.”

Soumya realized that she believed him completely and had no doubt that he will be able to clear all her doubts. As they reached her room, Rudra joked again, “So is this a nightly routine now. I will go looking for bhatakti aatma Soumya and bring her back to her room.”

Soumya laughed and pinched his arm playfully. Before she could know what was happening, Rudra bent down, kissed the top of her head , said goodnight and walked off.

Copyrighted to Diyaa
_______________________________________________

Thanks for reading Everyone. Sorry about the late update. I had a busy​ week but more than that, I am finding it harder to write Rumya story as compared to the others. I write what I feel would be natural to their case but it doesn’t have as much drama as Shivika and OmAashi so I wonder if it is boring. But I guess I’ll stick to my characterization as otherwise I wouldn’t be able to develop it properly. I promised a reader some OmAashi scenes. This update got pretty long and came to a natural break at Rudra saying goodnight to Soumya so I couldn’t include it today. I’ll include it in the next update for sure.

Lastly, Shubhadra suggested copyrighting as she saw some plagiarized material on other sites. So I am following her advice, and hence the copyright at the bottom.☺ That’s it dear readers. Please comment if you can so that I feel capable of completing this story. Take care😊

It is so beautiful dii… Anya introduction is so cute…. I am amazed…. You make it so naturally… Nothing seems it is a fiction… It is like a real… Waiting for the next update please post ASAP and lots of love you dii…

Diyaa di,
This was stupendous. Believe me, I’m in complete awe of your writing. I don’t know how can it come out so smoothly and go on so naturally, but believe me, I really appreciate it. I wonder whether I’ll be ever able to write like this! Anyway, I really love Anya, she’s really cute, just like how a two-year old should be!
The intensity between RuMya is very much evident, yet it feels natural. The natural way he soothes her is something I’d really appreciate. I don’t know why you feel we’re getting bored when we aren’t. I mean it’s quite evident that with your writing, no one can!
The copyright idea is surely great! Hats off to Subhadra di, I suppose. Well that’s all for this update, I shall be looking forward to the next one and Omg, I can’t wait for Om-Aashi scenes. Hope you can post it soon enough.

Hey Diyaa di !! Once again you nailed it. Everything was smooth going like ice but somya’s decision to find a new place was a new twist. I really adore the pronunciations by Anya- mainly Nika bhabhi and Soma. Conversation between rumya was so natural. Rudra way of saying goodnight was a good thing to include as forehead kisses are always my favorite- sign of immense love and care. Looking forward to your update☺

Hi diyaa… I couldn’t comment at your last update… this episode is amazing as always… the way prinku finds her new way….. anya’s language…. the gradual process of shikar and prinku s story soumya’ dilemma about rudra and her future…. rudra’s maturity towards soumya …. everything is perfect…. when rudra kisses soumya that is truly his expressions unfettered towards his love…. I just want to tell you that it’s just wow…Waiting for the next best episode….bye
By the way we had a baby girl …..aakifa

I HV been waiting for so longggggg….u know how many times I HV checked if u HV posted or not…….and you are so good n its not boring in any manner OK, u carry the emotions so well uff what should I say jus no words ….n yeah I HV a request jus a req …I jus wish that OM should realise that prinku n shikar hv some kind of bond n he must initiate the talk with Ashi n prinku….I dnt know y I felt that should happen ….jus a req

Thanks Khushi. I know , this couple is simple in the surface but complicated in depth. But I felt that taking my time thinking about it helped in understanding which way to take it. Hoping to read your update soon as well☺

First, I want to say sorry for not commenting on the previous part.I don’t know there was some problem with the site or my phone.
Coming back,I just love Aanya.I’ll tell you a secret I don’t like crying kids and this leads to my reason for loving Aanya because she is always in a jolly mood.She is happy herself and makes others happy too, including the readers.
Rumya story may be progressing slowly but its better for them this way.I love the way how Rudra changes from’Serious and Mature’ Rudra to ‘Normal’ Rudra in a moment.I also loved the ‘Bhatakti aatma Saumya’ wala part.In short,I loved the whole epi.
Waiting for the next part.

Thanks Tanz. Yeah, Anya has so many people taking care of her that she is never bored and hardly ever cranky. And Anika’s slight strictness ensures that all the pampering doesn’t make her spoilt. So a true delight. Glad you liked her character development. You are right, I have to keep giving glimpses of Rudra’s maturity since he is four years older and has learned and grown as a person. Yet I want to keep his basic element of being funny and comforting to be around. Thankfully, it has worked so far. Thanks again for commenting. Will update soon.😊

Hey Diyaa “DI”, awesome episode. I jst luv u for ur writing skills and thoughts. If u realize I called u di coz i got to know that u are elder than me as u do a job and i am still studying. Do tell me what do u feel abt this emotional change. I wanna be friends wid u but dat’s only possible after my exam coz i haven’t made any fb id till date and also if u want to be. Once again lots of appreciation for ur outstanding work. Ok bye now and sorry for being so senti…

Hi Anu dear😀 Call me whatever comes naturally to you. I just care about positive emotions 😋 and senti is not a bad thing as it shows softness so no worries. I am not on any social media site. This site is actually the first time I dabbled with any online interaction as it had to do with reading and writing. But we can still be friends through this medium. Best of luck with your studies. ☺

good idea diyaa! i think it’s a kind of compliment in a way that your work is being plagiarized! 😀 so, congrats 😉
this chapter was so, so cute,.. i was missing rumya in both the shows for quite some time now, so it’s obvious that your ff is my squeal-and-smile-place for all things adorable and rumya! 🙂 post next soon 🙂

Awesome update deeyar….Anya is a bundle of joy….her new set of introduction when some new member of the family arrives was so cute….I will definitely take her home some day….first O n then O chachu….Wow, even that two year old knows what one look from mom means…..
Celestial Designs…..how do u come up with such beautiful names every time….?
Thinking from Saumya’s viewpoint, she it’s somewhere justified in looking for accommodation, but everyone is so much attached to her so they where naturally hurt…. Again Jhanvi handled the situation well….both the saas n bahu have some sort of degree in that 😂
Coming to Raumya, both have matured over the years, but that innocence, that masti is still there…..rudra explained saumya so well…loved that part a well….
Eagerly awaiting next episode for om n aashi scenes…. of course with rumya, prikar n cutie pie Anya…..N shivika maybe….?

Hi, Nita. Thanks deeyar 😁Yeah, the kid knows the look from mom. And you’re right, both saas-bahu Ph.D in handling awkward situations. Actually Dadi included too, so three generations of saas bahu😂😂 I really am desperate now to include some OmAashi and Shivika moments but will have to figure out how. Anyways, thanks again for commenting and will update soon 🙂

No, di its not boring…. I liked it. Anya……heavenly creature gives sooo cute introduction to all members…. I like Shivaay’s dialogue di… Prikhar story process smooth and slow. But its perfect process di…. Sowmya is confusion about her and Rudra’s future….but she is correct in her position. Rudra’s mature behaviours towards Sumo is very beautiful….. Always slow and steady wins the race di…… so next time don’t think that the chapter is boring something like that………. waiting for next chapter di…..

Thanks Gayathri. I am glad you are liking the development in the story so far. Yeah, I face a choice between what I think is natural progress of events and something more dramatic. But I decided to write what comes naturally to me or I’d surely mess up. Thanks for encouraging me 😊

Till now…… I was wishing for such an amazing story for ib and dbo too but now I am happy that its not so. I wonder who could have done justice to your deep yet simple new characters that you have imbibed here. And your writing style itself makes me feel a part of oberoi family. It does not seem at all that I am reading a story of people who I haven’t met in person. Big complement for you to be able to do so so effortlessly.
I absolutely adore Anika’s stare that changes Anya’s salutations. Good that Rumya and Prikhar are progressing slowly by giving each other enough space to grow. Somya’s decision to move was another realistic twist as Sonya is independent now. I am head over heels for forehead kisses – a perfect example of care,love, maturity and support.
Please do update more oftenly if possible for you.
One more request …. Please focus a bit on Tejanvi’s relation as I really want to know how’s his relation with Om and Aashi and his views on Rumya. Keep rocking with your commendable writing.
PS do inform about your first novel soon 😉

Hi Sanjukta. Thanks so much for appreciating my writing in such lovely words. It really does wonders for my confidence and motivation. Even I haven’t been able to figure out a suitable cast for my new characters. I am including a bit of Tej and Jhanvi in the next update. He does not know about Rumya but I will try to show his interaction with Om and Aashi.
My first novel! Wow, you overwhelm me with your appreciation. If I ever write one, my readers here will be the first to know about it. Thanks again ☺

Wow…such a great update..lovely…mesmerized by this version of Rumya..Sry I am late ..but I will always read and comment it..as I am busy.Love ya! I was a silent reader in Serendipity..and use to comment..less…but now..I will alwys when I read it.